Bib 33 - Olympic slalom surprise: Katja Koren (Lillehammer 1994)

Slovenian Katja Koren surprised everybody when she took the lead in women's 1994 Olympic Slalom. She had bib 33 and started long after favorites left the finish area. Koren's PB in slalom at the time was 13th place and was considered more as speed specialist. In second run Swiss Vreni Schneider blasted from 5th position after half-time and only young Slovenian could prevent historic third gold medal for Swiss veteran. Koren had fantastic 2nd run as well but then made some small mistakes at the bottom and won a bronze medal which was still a huge success for 18-year old skier
Results:
1. Vreni Schneider (SUI) 1.56.01, 2. Elfi Eder (AUT) +0.34, 3. Katja Koren (SLO) +0.60

[@Mansch007]

These were different times, but for me it's crazy that Koren's first run didn't look particularly smooth or fast and that I don't see where in the lower part of the second run an entire second was lost.

[@DanArnets1492]

It's all about momentum, you need more than the perfect line - Sometimes, if you're strong, you can sometimes kick up a lot of snow and not lose much speed (Svindal & Kristoffersen did that a lot)
You have to trust your eyes, that's the one thing that never lies

[@matic7589]

My thoughts exactly.